Combat sports fighters are known to be some of the most daring athletes in the sporting world. Fighters endure a lot of damage and put their lives on the line every time they step into a fight.

The training regiment of fighters is no joke and the individuals have to push their bodies to the limit to bring out their best version and stay rather safe during the fights. As a result of this, the fighters have a rather short career span when compared to athletes in other sports.

That said, in this piece, we will look at the reasons that contribute to fighters not having as much longevity as other athletes.

Why do fighters have shorter career spans than other athletes?

The reasons for fighters having shorter career spans than other athletes are not hard to guess. The training regiment that the fighters go through takes a toll on their bodies.

Moreover, considering the dangerous nature of the sport, fighters are injury-prone. The same leads to fighters having shorter career spans. Apart from this, fighters also take a lot of damage to their heads. As a result, the damage that they endure to their heads and brains also plays a vital role in that.

As a result of the same, while athletes in sports like football, cricket, basketball, and others can have a career span of nearly two decades, fighters don’t often spend two decades competing at the highest level.

Do fighters have a shorter life expectancy?

Yes, fighters face a much shorter life than other sportspeople. According to new research by Compare the Market looking at links between sport, head trauma, and life expectancy that seems to be the case.

Data on 1,000 professional athletes were compared across 10 different sports, the Australian company determined the average life expectancy of each discipline and compared it against the global life expectancy average.

Fighters had the shortest life expectancy by a considerable margin. While all other sports in the study had a life expectancy ranging from the mid-70s to early 80s, the life expectancy of a fighter was just 67.7 years. Interestingly, the sport with the longest life expectancy was tennis with 80.4 years.

Not only does it have the lowest, but combat sports are the only sport in the study that shorten a person’s life span rather than extending it. When one compares it to the average person’s life expectancy of 72.6 years, professional fighters lose almost 5 years of their lives. Tennis, on the other hand, tends to extend the athlete’s life by more than 7 years.

Have any fighters managed to beat the effect of time?

Yes, despite combat sports being of a dangerous nature, there are some individuals who have managed to beat the effect of time and write their names in the history books. Let’s take a look at some of them below:

Floyd Mayweather

Considered to be one of the best fighters of all time, Floyd Mayweather not only went undefeated in his career but also managed to stay at the top for two decades. Mayweather made his pro boxing debut in 1996 and had his last professional bout in 2017. Interestingly, he is still fighting in exhibition fights.

Canelo Alvarez

Canelo Alvarez is another top name in the sport of boxing. The Mexican fighter made his professional debut back in 2005 and is still competing at the top level 19 years later. Alvarez has won world titles in multiple weight divisions and is considered to be one of the best of this generation.

Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva is a name that is etched in the history books of MMA. Silva holds the record for the longest title reign in the UFC and the most title defenses. The Brazilian made his MMA debut back in 1997 and had his last MMA fight in 2020. It’s safe to say that Silva certainly managed to beat the effects of time in his career. It is worth noting that after retiring from MMA in 2020, he continued to fight in boxing and further displayed his longevity.

Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao is another name that has been able to beat the clock. The multiple-division boxing world champion made his professional boxing debut back in 1995 and went on to achieve great heights. He retired from the sport in 2021 an astounding 26 years later.

Conclusion

With everything mentioned in the piece above, we hope that we’ve been able to dive deeper into the reasons why fighters generally have a shorter career span than other athletes. Despite this, there are some fighters who have managed to display unreal longevity in their careers.

However, that is not the case with most fighters and while the sport can be extremely rewarding, it is also equally if not more taxing on the body.

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